Libération
by LyddieLovesWriting
Summary: Have you ever wondered about the events of Beauty and the Beast from the perspective of one of the enchanted objects? And doesn't Cogsworth deserve a love interest? (The correct answer would be heck yes.) Libération is French for freedom, just so you know; I figured a French title was more authentic, but it's in ENGLISH. Enjoy! CogsworthxOC
1. Chapter 1

**It's been a while since I've started a new story. And this one is completely written, so it won't be given up. The beginning is going to be a lot of background of my OC Eveline during the events of the movie. But I promise it will be post movie in the middle of chapter two, which is also when Cogsworth's POV should come in. I don't have my chapters split yet, but it should be in the next chapter. I hope you enjoy this. Disclaimer: I don't own anything besides Eveline and Clarisse. Enjoy! ~Lyddie**

_Libération_

Eveline Ouellette was a stewardess before the enchantment. She was twenty-five at the time of the enchantment and was turned into a plate. She was very used to being unnoticed; actually she preferred it that way. In her days at the castle, she never befriended much of anyone. She quietly did her work, then spent her evenings either reading, chatting with her sister, or listening into the discussions of others in the castle. Though she wasn't one to spread gossip, she enjoyed hearing it. It was her way of being involved without truly being involved.

Once everyone got changed to their new forms, Eveline was forced to give up on her reading since she had no hands to turn the pages. She spent all of her evenings with her sister, listening to the others discuss the happenings of the castle. The most common discussions were those of Prince Adam, wondering how he could ever learn to love. Being a pessimist, Eveline scoffed at the hope brought to the table by Mrs. Potts and Lumiere. Then she would sigh, remembering the days before misfortune struck her life. She used to be an optimist, she missed those days. She used to even have friends; she was always shy, but she could overcome it for a select few.

As time moved forward, the nonexistent hope she held became less than that, if that was possible. Prince Adam, who at this point refused to go by his name, was becoming more bitter and resentful than ever. For who could ever learn to love a beast?

_Eveline~_

"There's a girl in the castle!"

"What do you mean a girl in the castle?" I spat, then immediately regretted it, as everyone's eyes turned toward me.

"A girl, I saw her! Ugh, she was so beautiful…" Babette continued, more dramatically than usual, which I didn't realize was possible.

I rolled my eyes, but remained silent. That was the first time I talked to anyone, besides my sister, in about eight years.

Babette continued her ramble about this beautiful girl she saw. "Oh, what if Lumiere decides she's better than me? Oh, I couldn't bear the thought!" And she just got more dramatic.

"Eveline?"

"What?" I whispered, not wanting to attract more attention.

"Do you think she's the one? The one to break the spell?"

"No one's going to break the spell, Clarisse, there's no use pretending."

"I miss the old Eveline, you know."

"I do too, sœur."

"Then why are you so pessimistic?"

"You've asked every day for the past fifteen years, when will you realize I'm not going to talk about it?"

"How are you supposed to move past something you refuse to face?"

"Which one of us is older? Just listen to me, Clarisse!"

If she had arms, I know she would have crossed them at that moment, "Fine, but I don't appreciate it."

"You don't need to, dear." She attempted to stick her tongue out at me, but that was made difficult as a plate, so she looked like she was panting. I giggled at her, "Let's go to bed."

The next morning, I woke up to see many of the dishes were dirty. I turned Clarisse, who was also dirty, "What's going on?"

"Last night was insane! We tried to wake you up, but it's hard to do without your tickle spot…" She giggled, while I shot her an annoyed glare. "Anyway, she came down and we made her a meal and, oh, it was fantastic. We served and danced and sang, you know Lumiere, no meal is right without music and Cogsworth freaked out, as always….he always tries to ruin the fun-"

"He's not ruining the fun, he's just trying to do his job," I defended.

"I don't understand why you always defend him, of all people to defend, why Cogsworth?"

"Let's move forward, dear sister, what is she like?"

"Everything Babette said! She's beautiful, kind, though very spunky."

"Oh, how interesting."

"But I haven't even gotten to the best part!"

"Oh, please," I replied sarcastically, "tell me all about it."

"She ran away-"

"How on earth is that the best part?"

"Let me finish. She ran away after she went into the West Wing."

"Stupid girl…" I muttered to myself.

"So, the master got mad at her and she ran off, then he followed her and saved her from a pack of wolves! Then he got injured and she brought him back. They aren't fighting tooth and nail anymore. Oh, isn't it wonderful?"

"I suppose so…" I said dryly, still refusing to believe anything would come from it.

"Belle cleaned the master's wounds!"

"Prince Adam can clean his own darn wounds!"

She gasped, "Eveline, you shouldn't talk like that! What would happen if someone overheard you?"

"Who's going to overhear me? I don't talk to anyone besides you, nor do I speak around others."

"When she thanked him for saving her, he said 'you're welcome' that's a lot for him, you know."

"I just don't want your hopes to get too high…"

As time with Belle in the castle continued, the other servants were getting extremely hopeful, as I continued to think it was fruitless, until one evening when everything changed…


	2. Chapter 2

**A** **couple of notes really quick! 1. Thanks for the reviews and constructive criticism. I appreciate it! 2. It was pointed out to me that stewardess is probably not the best word to describe Eveline's position and I considered the thought and realized the suggested title made more sense, so I changed all remaining 'stewardess' to 'serving maid' It is not that often of an occurring statement, but I figured I would point it out now before I forget. If I just say 'maid' it's referring to the usual thought you have when you think 'maid' Thanks for the suggestion for clarity, TrudiRose! 3. Unfortunately, I was unable to get Cogsworth's point of view in this chapter, but I promise it is in the next chapter(actually it starts the next chapter). I have all my chapter splits complete now. Okay, taking deep breath, I hope you enjoy! I don't own anything besides Eveline and Clarisse. **

"He did what?!" we all chorused.

"Yes, I'm afraid it's true…" Cogsworth answered sadly.

"She's going away?" Chip asked.

"But he was so close," Lumiere said in despair. "After all this time, he's finally learned to love," Mrs. Potts added. "That's it, then. That should break the spell!" Lumiere exclaimed.

"But it's not enough. She has to love him in return."

"And now it's too late…" And with Cogsworth's words I blinked back the tears that were threatening to pour out. This is what I got for being optimistic for a day. I thought things could turn around, and I thought I finally was being noticed despite my efforts otherwise and that maybe, just maybe, I could have another chance at love. The thing that scared yet fascinated me the most in this world.

The next hour was a blur. I sat with Clarisse and we both cried. I hadn't allowed myself to cry in years, but here I was sobbing. All of the servants mourned in their own way, but we were all in the same room. "I knew it, I knew it was foolish to get our hopes up," Cogsworth took the thoughts right out of my head.

"Maybe it would have been better if she had never come at all!" Lumiere replied ruefully.

The dog then began to bark and the next thing I knew we were being bombarded with a mob. Then an epic battle came forth that I cannot recap with words. Needless to say, the mob was confused by our actions. However, they fought on. One of them grabbed me after I bit him. He held me above his head, ready to throw me down. _Well, this is it, _I thought, _my death will come by being shattered into a million pieces, as if I weren't already… _Then Cogsworth yelled and slammed a hammer on the man's foot. He threw me into the air, I closed my eyes, hoping it would be a quick and painless death, but the shattering never came. I opened my eyes to see Cogsworth holding me, "That was a close one, Eveline."

I blinked at him, "Th—thank you."

"Of course, mademoiselle," he replied, setting me down on the ground gently.

After a while, we were able to successfully fend off the mob. We immediately rushed upstairs to check on Prince Adam. When we arrived, Belle was leaning over his limp body, crying, "No, no! Please! Please! Please don't leave me! I love you."

As she said the three words we all longed to hear, the last petal dropped. We all became downcast.

Cogsworth was comforting Mrs. Potts when it happened: the rain began to change into light. As the light rained down, Belle became increasingly confused and backed away. The lights lifted him up and I tapped Cogsworth on the shoulder and whispered, "Look." Cogsworth turned to witness Prince Adam return to his human form and gently reach the ground again. I gasped, then turned to see my sister standing tall above me as a human. "Oh Clare…" I breathed, then I felt it. I was being stretched. I felt something unfamiliarly familiar, then held it in front of me: my hand. I started to look around…I could turn my head. I was back. I was finally human again. "Clarisse!" I squealed. I ran to her and lifted her. I spun her and we hugged each other tighter than we had ever before.

Clarisse laughed, "I'm dizzy, Eveline!" I put her down, and touched her hair, smiling. "Eveline, we're back!" She had tears of joy spilling over; soon I realized I did as well. I hugged her again, this time leaving her on the ground.

I heard a cough behind us, I let go of Clarisse and turned around to see Cogsworth shyly smiling at me. "Bonjour…" I said slowly.

"I knew you were the serving maid I had wanted to acquaint with."

"I don't understand why, monsieur…"

"You'll understand soon enough, ma chérie."

"I'll take your word for it…"

Prince Adam, which he was going by again, allowed everyone to sleep in the next day…actually he ordered we do so due to the insanity of that fateful day. Once I awakened, for the first time in years I pulled a dress on and tied my apron on my waist. I looked over towards my sister's bed and it was empty, which was odd because I usually had to drag her out of bed. I went to go find her and noticed that everybody was hard at work. "How late did I sleep in?" I wondered aloud.

"Oh, you're finally up!" an unfamiliar voice said, I turned to see a very cheerful Belle.

"Uh—bonjour…"

"I didn't mean to frighten you. I'm Belle, it's a pleasure to meet you," she held her hand out, which I slowly shook.

"I'm Eveline," I responded quietly, "and you didn't frighten me, I'm just not used to being addressed or noticed…" I wasn't sure why I was telling her this, but I immediately felt comfortable around her, perhaps due impart to the fact that she was able to make Prince Adam love her.

"Your sister was looking for you…then she got distracted by one of the servants, so I decided to see if you were up."

I rolled my eyes, "Oh Clarisse…"

"Should you really be rolling your eyes?"

"Excuse me?"

"You seem to be quite found of Cogsworth," she replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

"I—uh—um—well…"

She chuckled, "You sound exactly how I did when I stayed up the evening before the ball with Madame de la Grand Bouche talking about Bea—Adam."

"I, uh—surely you are mistaken…"

"I'm not asking you to admit it to me, but perhaps your sister would like to be told."

"I don't know what you're talking about…" the further into the sentence I got, the less true it sounded.

Belle smiled, "Do any of us really know when it comes to the matters of the heart?"

"I suppose not…" I replied, slowly, hoping no one was listening in. "I really must get to work, though. It was nice meeting you, Belle." I rushed away without looking back, wondering if I was really that obvious…I sighed then pushed the thought away, I had work to attend to.

"Finally up, I see," Clarisse said with a smile as I walked into the dining room.

"Good morning," I replied, ignoring her comment.

"Morning? It's two in the afternoon, Eveline."

"Oh my! I sure did sleep in!"

"I went to look for you…but well, I uh…"

"Got distracted by one of the servants?" I finished.

"Yes! …Wait, how did you know that?"

"I had a chat with Belle."

"Oh, isn't she lovely?

"Yes, she seems quite lovely…"

"Are you alright?"

I was about to deny it, but I decided to push aside my dignity for the sake of my sister, "If I admit I have something on my mind, will you allow me to wait to tell you?"

"Is that a promise?"

"If you'd like it to be."

"Alright, it's a promise!" She went back to her work and I chuckled. For a twenty-five year old, she sure did have some adolescent qualities…of course, the last time she was human she was only fifteen.

Later that day, I was setting the table for that evening's meal when I heard the door open and shut. I continued to set the table until I heard a soft humming; I turned around to see Cogsworth awkwardly looking around the room. "Bonjour, monsieur."

"Oh—bonjour!" he said, sounding surprised at my presence.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's quite alright, mademoiselle; I—erm—actually…I was hoping to ask you something."

At this point I was utterly confused, "Yes?"

"Well, you see…there's the celebration ball…tomorrow evening…"

"Yes, yes, I know, I'm looking forward to it. It'll be the most exciting thing I've worked in years!"

"Well, uhm—I was wondering…" he trailed off, looking to the ground, "I'll just be going now…" he abruptly left.

"Wait monsieur!" I would have followed him, but I had a table to set. Such a shy, awkward man…I really couldn't tell you why I saw past that…at least not at that point.

I continued to set the table, lost in my thoughts of Monsieur Cogsworth. I sighed, realizing I'd never actually had a real conversation with the man. I wondered how old he was, a few years older than me, I guessed.


	3. Chapter 3

_Cogsworth~_

I groaned after I left Eveline. I am too much of a fool to even have a conversation with her. I remembered the first time I met her as clearly as if it had happened yesterday. I was twenty three at the time and she reminded me of my childhood best friend, Geneviève. Much like Geneviève, she was lively and spunky. She lived life her own way. Though unlike my friend, she was very quiet. I rarely heard a word from her and when I did, it was either required or to her sister. The few conversations with her sister that I overheard were what made me fascinated with her. I am aware how scandalous that sounds, but I honestly just wished to be acquainted with her. The first conversation they had is ingrained in my mind as it will forever be.

"It's so fascinating here, isn't it?" her sister asked.

"I suppose so, but I really can't stand that prince."

"You shouldn't say such things! What if someone heard you?"

"So what if they do? Will they behead me for speaking the truth? He's so rude and arrogant. I've never met someone so selfish!"

"Oh, sister—"

"What's fascinating is wondering about the personal lives of the other servants! What makes Babette so insecure or Mrs. Potts so caring or Madame de la Grand Bouche so lively? What makes Lumiere so boisterous or Cogsworth such a hard worker?"

"Hard worker? Don't you mean overkill perfectionist?"

"No, he's quite admirable. I only hope to be that hard working…oh, don't you just love thinking about people?"

"No, no I really don't."

"Perhaps that's why I don't tell you what's bothering me ever…" she replied coyly, crossing her arms and giving her sister a look that could only be interpreted by a close friend.

"You make no sense. You try to change the subject, I decide to give up, then you bring the original subject back up!"

She grinned, "It's a sister's job to annoy, besides other than reading, sassing is my only source of enjoyment."

The way she spoke her mind so freely filled me with envy. I would never allow myself to even think the way that she spoke, yet I longed to be able to say what I truly thought, even if it was unpleasant to the royalty. But I kept my loyalty and earned my way to Head of the Household. I smiled at the memory, Eveline would always be arguing with her sister about something. Whether it was a secret or something of someone within the castle, Eveline always had the upper hand, of course, she was quite a bit older, which she used to her advantage rather than giving her young sister a chance to be right.

Her normally quiet demeanor was rarely interrupted by anyone besides her sister, but the day of the enchantment, things changed. I saw her plate figure yelling in the kitchen. She screamed and cried and complained about the faults of the prince with no shame. She knew I was there, as were Lumiere and Mrs. Potts. I tried to calm her down, but she would not have it. All of the sass she displayed that day was somehow endearing. I could not forget how fired up she was. Two years later, she had another moment of sass in company beyond just her sister. Babette, whom she clearly had never cared for, was yet again complaining about Lumiere not loving her, when Eveline had it. She yelled at her and told her there were bigger problems than her insecurities. Other people had worse off relationships than hers and that she should stop going on about how horrid her life was because Lumiere never stopped loving her. That was the last time I heard her talk until we ran into each other by the master's room. I knew it was her immediately and was glad that I ran into her. I attempted to keep the Head of the Household façade on to direct her back to the kitchen for preparations, but I was entranced by her eyes and attitude yet again. Except her attitude was much more subtle while talking to me and her shyness was evident, which I found adorable.

At this point, standing outside of the dining room, I mentally slapped myself for being such an idiot. I had never had a legitimate conversation with Eveline, yet I wanted to escort her to the master's party. I also stuttered continuously as I spoke to her. Nothing ever went right for me when it came to women…the same happened when I became attracted to Geneviève…I lost the friendship. I would love it if I could finally find someone and not scare her away with my awkwardness and my workaholic tendencies. I sighed, knowing I was hopeless.

"Cogsworth!"

I turned to see Lumiere staring at me, "Oh, it's you…" "Who else would it be, mon ami?"

"No one, I suppose…" I replied glumly.

"Why have you been so sad since the spell got lifted? Shouldn't you be happy? It's easier to be Head of the Household as a man than a clock."

"Yes, indeed it is, I—I just have a lot on my mind…" Lumiere was the last person I wanted to discuss my feelings with. I hated to admit even to myself that I was attracted to Eveline, but there I was, practically swooning…quite ungentlemanly.

"The plate?"

"Excuse me?"

"Well, I'd use her name, but I don't know what it is."

I sighed, knowing I had been caught, "Eveline…"

"Do you not remember the advice we gave the master?"

"It is much easier telling someone else to do such things than to actually do them."

"I suppose it is, but you must try, Cogsworth," and with that he left. I was surprised he did not say anything sarcastic. He was a good friend when he wanted to be. I checked the time and frowned, I was late for meeting the master…I had always been quite punctual. I hastily made my way to the West Wing.

"Bonjour Cogsworth!"

"I am so sorry I am late, master!" I said, flustered as I gasped for a sufficient air supply.

"It's quite alright, Cogsworth," he said with a hearty laugh, "After twenty years of never being late, it would be wrong to be angry over being late once…especially since it was only two minutes."

I chuckled awkwardly. "Where shall we begin?" I asked, desperately wanting a subject change before he asked why I was late.

"Well, Lumiere suggested the celebration ball for tomorrow, what preparations should we do for that?"

"Everything is going swimmingly for that, sire, there is no need for you fuss over it."

"Do you really need to fuss, I can give you a break of that, you know."

"I would still be, just if you took over the responsibility, I would just be internally anxious, which is much worse."

"Don't overdo it, Cogsworth."

There was a gentle tapping at the door, soon followed by its opening. Belle walked into the room with a huge smile plastered on her face. "Bea—Adam! Guess what!"

"What is it, Belle?" he said with a smile.

She then noticed me sitting there, "Oh, bonjour Cogsworth! I didn't mean to interrupt, I'm sorry."

"Oh, you're no interruption, mademoiselle," I replied.

"Thank you, Cogsworth. I can wait, though. Please, do continue."

We finished our discussion about the ball, then briefly deliberated about getting reestablished into the world of monarchy. "Thank you, Cogsworth," he said, "I look forward to further examining the future of the kingdom."


	4. Chapter 4

**You want to know more about Eveline's past you say? Actually, no one said that, but here you go anyway. Thanks for the reviews! Enjoy. Disclaimer: Disney has the rights, boom.**

_Eveline~_

I distracted myself from my thoughts for the rest of the day as I worked on preparations for the ball. All of the servants were kept quite busy throughout the day. I sat at the table to take a break and noticed Mrs. Potts watching me. "May I help you, Mrs. Potts?"

"I was actually going to ask you the same thing, dear."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you have seemed somewhat distracted today. Is there anything I can help with?"

"It's just something I was told earlier, that's all…" I hated having the attention placed so clearly on me. I appreciated her concern…well—kind of, but I was being singled out…this seemed to be happening a lot after the enchantment had been lifted.

"Oh, I do believe it is more than that."

"Why is everyone so concerned with me?" The words sounded much harsher than I intended them to, "I mean, I appreciate it, I guess, but I'm not used to people wanting to know about me so much…"

"It takes a very special person to distract Cogsworth from his work, and I cannot help but believe the feeling is mutual."

"What feeling? I've never had a real conversation with him!"

"Perhaps you should change that, he is rather shy, you know."

"I wouldn't coin him as shy, or at least not as much as me…"

"Is there a source to your shyness?"

"Yes," I admitted, "there is. I'd prefer not to repeat the past."

Mrs. Potts gave me a sympathetic smile, "You will never move past it if you don't trust someone to help rid you of the pain."

"You sound like my sister…a much more elegant version of my sister."

"Just think about it, dear one," she stood from her chair, "I have things to attend to, but if you ever want to talk, I am willing to listen." And with that she left the room and I groaned.

"Okay, spill!" My sister prodded as soon as I stepped in our room that evening.

I glared at her, "Can I not bathe first?"

"I assumed you already had…" I gestured to my dirty work clothes. "Or I just hoped?"

I chuckled, "I'll be quick."

She groaned, "Eveline, you never bathe quickly! It's only gotten worse since the enchantment!"

Twenty minutes later I left the washroom in a robe and my hair was wrapped in a towel. I was internally dreading telling my sister about my thoughts and in the process of thinking, was not paying attention to where I was walking. I fell to the ground after bumping into…I looked up…Cogsworth. He reached down to help me up as he apologized to me, "Oh—mademoiselle, I—I am so sorry…" he was more flustered than he had been in the dining room earlier that day. He picked up my towel and handed it to me.

"Thank you…it's quite alright." I dashed back to my room and locked the door and sighed.

"What happened to you?"

"I just ran into Cogsworth…" I attempted to keep my confident façade up, but I utterly failed.

"Cogsworth is why you're so flustered? Oh please don't tell me he's the reason you've been flustered all day!" She started to laugh, then at a look at my distressed expression, which I had given up on trying to hide, she abruptly stopped laughing. "Really?"

"Can I explain before you judge, please?" I said, losing patience with this conversation already.

"I guess so…"

"Clarisse…" I said warningly.

As I got dressed, I started explaining. "Well, it all started one day before the enchantment…

I was sitting in the library, reading a book. I was so captured in the story that I didn't hear the door open. Once I finally finished the book, I set it down with a contented sigh and looked up to see Cogsworth standing directly in front of me. 'May I help you, monsieur?' I asked. He smiled at me and shook his head. I got up and put the book back on the shelf. His gaze continued to follow me and I was getting concerned, 'Are you sure there's nothing I help you with?' He smiled again and replied, 'I could not help but notice your choice in literature is impeccable. I have never met a young lady who seems to get enthralled with Shakespeare to the point she becomes unaware of her surroundings.' I nervously smiled, 'I have always enjoyed Shakespeare…' We sat in the library in a comfortable silence for a while, until I picked up another book and began to read aloud. He quietly complimented my countenance and said he wished to get to know me more…I ran out at that point…"

"Why did you leave?"

I sighed, "Perhaps it's time I told you the truth about me and Raoul…"

"What do you mean the truth?"

I avoided eye contact with her, "We didn't separate as smoothly as I led on. He wanted things from me that I wasn't willing to give…so he started to hurt me…" a lone tear rolled down my face, "He pushed me down and yelled at me. One time he pulled a knife on me and I ran. He punched me in the face…" I refused to give detail, just thinking about it was enough to bring chills to my spine and keep me up for three nights. "Then I found out that he was receiving everything he wanted from another woman…so he left me…I'm terrified to try to love again and…Cogsworth notices me. He sees me like no one else does and…that scares me, Clare."

She enveloped me in a hug as I let the rest of my tears flood the room. The only sound present was that of my sobbing, no words were needed. I was done overprotecting Clarisse from the world; it felt wonderful and horrible at the same time. I knew her mind was reeling all the lies I told to cover up Raoul, but I knew she forgave me. She had forgiven me years ago because she knew I was lying about something…she knew every lie; she just never knew the truth.

**I feel like singing...Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme, bittersweet and strange, learning you can change, learning you were wrong...ahhhhhhh ahhhhhhh beauty and the beaaaaaaassstttt. I'm sorry, the roommate's asleep and I just want to sing Disney songs for all my days(; Hope you liked it, please review:)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, sorry it's been a while! Enjoy! Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, except Eveline. And Clarisse.**

_Cogsworth~_

I walked to and sat in my quarters wishing I could learn to be somewhat approachable. I thought back to the day in the library with Eveline and how she ran when I wished to get to know her more…I was thankful that the next time I tried she did not run, but I still had no clue how to get to know her without frightening her again…I sighed, that was the main reason I was terribly nervous around her. I overdid things once and she intrigues me so. Lumiere walked in without knocking, "You, mon ami, need to get over your fears."

"How do you propose I do that?" I asked bitterly.

"Training, much like the master had."

"Non, non, non!" I exclaimed.

"Why not, Cogsworth?"

"Because…she is frightened of me, I do not wish to frighten her more."

"I believe she only has fear because of how much she admires you."

"I refuse to believe it, Lumiere."

"That is your own fault then."

"Whatever do you mean?"

"Mrs. Potts told me that she believes the girl to be quite fond of you."

"Why would she be fond of me? What do I have to offer?"

Lumiere put a hand on my shoulder, "Security, affection, loyalty…" he continued to list qualities as I thought to myself how unlikely an event it would be if she were actually to dance with me. "You should ask her to dance with you!" he announced. I looked at him with widened eyes, wondering if he had read my mind.

"That seems rather upfront, does it not? How much conversation have I had with her?"

"You would know better than I!" he replied with a chuckle.

"Never a real conversation…" I answered the implied inquiry with reluctance.

The next morning, I woke up with a new determination. If I kept hiding from my emotions, I would live my life full of regrets and never find happiness. I walked down to the dining room and with a deep breath walked in. When I entered I saw Eveline with her sister, they were whispering.

"Bonjour, monsieur Cogsworth!" she said with a smile.

"Bonjour, mademoiselle…" I took in a breath of air, not sure when to allow it to exit.

"Bonjour…" her sister said coolly.

"Bonjour…Oh! I am distracting you both! I will be quick, though." I had no intention of asking her in front of her sister, "May I speak with you outside for a moment, Eveline?"

She looked rather confused, but complied. We stepped out and my nerves returned, "I—I have a question for you…" I started feeling incredibly unintelligent.

"Oui?"

"Well, the ball is tonight and I was wondering…if you would mind—uh—I was wondering if I could escort you to the ball?" I finally got out. Once I got past the stuttering the rest of my sentence was quite smooth.

She stared at me with wide eyes for a few seconds, I was afraid I had done it again, then she spoke, "Oui, I would like that very much. Merci, monsieur."

"Please, just call me Cogsworth," I said with a smile.

"Alright, thank you, Cogsworth, I'd be honored," she grinned at me, "I should return to work though…"

"Right, I will meet you outside your quarters at ten till!"

She warmly smiled at me, "Delightful! See you tonight, mons—Cogsworth!"

_Eveline~_

I walked back into the dining room and sat down, gathering my thoughts.

"Earth to Eveline…" Clarisse was holding a napkin in front of my face.

"Oh, just stop…"

"No sassy come back? No yelling? What's gotten into you?"

"Perhaps I am ready to move on with my life, Clarisse."

"Care to explain?"

"He asked me to the ball…he asked me…to go be escorted to the ball…by him…"

"He's always been fond of you, Eveline."

"I'm well aware of that. But he acted on it, despite my actions pushing him away…Clarisse, I—I think I can do this!"

"Meaning?"

"I think I can learn to love again."

That evening, everyone in the castle was hustling with last minute preparations. I found it somewhat pointless to go to all this trouble when the only guest from outside the castle was Belle's father, but this is the way they wanted it, so I wasn't one to argue…actually normally I would have, but I was excited to be going with Cogsworth.

Once we finished preparing the ball room, I dashed up to my room to get ready. Clarisse arrived five minutes after me. She went to the wardrobe and picked out a frilly pink dress and laid it on her bed. "Maman would have loved this dress on me…" she stated quietly.

I hugged her, "Maman would love anything you wear…though, I would love to hear her reaction to us going to a royal ball!"

"I miss her…"

"I do too, ma sœur, but I don't think she would want us to dwell on it on such a day…come on, let's get ready. You're going to look dashing in that dress!"

"You really care for him, don't you?"

I sighed, "I'm hoping to confirm my feelings for him tonight, actually. He is quite enchanting, but…I don't know, I need to have a real conversation with him before I can actually decide my feelings on him…do you know what I mean or am I babbling?"

She giggled, "Both."

I smiled at her, deciding it was best not to respond. I pulled a purple gown out of the wardrobe. It had ruffles all the way to the ground, but not a superfluous amount. It had subtle jewels at the bodice and a sweetheart neckline. I twisted the front of my hair back and pinned it in place with a purple flower that matched my gown perfectly. As I pulled the gown up, I looked up at Clarisse. She wore her brunette curls in an elaborate bun with a few loose strands framing her face. "You look beautiful, Clarisse."

"So do you, are you sure Cogsworth is worth it?"

"Please stop, Clare…"

"I'm sorry, I can't help it…he's—he's just so uptight."

"He's Head of the Household; he has a lot of responsibility," I replied as I applied make up to my pale face.

"You're beautiful, you know that, right?"

I turned to her in shock. She had an innocent smile on her face and I weakly returned it, "I don't need you to do that…"

"Yes you do…and I'm here to do it no matter how many times you say I don't need to." I hugged her again, "You're the best sister in the world."

"Wrong," she replied, "you are…and you'll do great with him tonight."

I turned my head to look at her in shock, "What's with the sudden attitude change?"

"I love you and I care too much about you to ruin your night with my sarcasm."

I laughed, "I love you too."

I looked at myself in the full length mirror, "I don't even look like myself, Clare…"

"Sure you do! I see Eveline right there!" she pointed at my heart.

"That was incredibly lame, you know."

"Oui, but that's just me."

I giggled, then heard a knock at my door. "Oh gosh…" I tensed up.

"I'll get it," she said with a smirk.

"No, Clari—"

"Bonjour monsieur! I suppose you're here for my sister…"

"Oy…" I whispered to myself as she greeted Cogsworth.

"Oh, please, just call me Cogsworth," he sounded less tense than usual. Clarisse opened the door the rest of the way to reveal him standing and smiling.

"Bonjour Cogsworth…" I just barely whispered.

"Bonjour, Eveline, are you ready for the dance?"

"Yes," I replied, taking one last look in the mirror before latching my arm in his extended one.

We arrived in the ballroom and it amazed me how different it looks when not working. While working in the ballroom, I always felt overwhelmed and stressed, but walking in as a guest of the ball…I felt almost like a princess. It excited me and I felt free…free, there was that word again. I didn't believe it possible just a week before and here I was, feeling as though I could have nothing besides it. I let out a soft gasp.

I heard Cogsworth chuckle so I turned to him. "It sure is a different perspective, is it not?"

I smiled in response, "I never imagined I'd be in such a grand position."

"How come?" he inquired.

"Well, a plain servant never gets the opportunity to go to such an event…and with an escort? That's unheard of…I feel somewhat undeserving, to be honest with you…" I had no idea what possessed me to admit that to him, but there I was, babbling about my undeserved fate.

"Undeserving? That is absurd, ma chérie, you are quite worthy of being here."

"What makes me so?"

"The same as us all, Eveline. We have worked in this castle, spell and all, for ten years. Now we are in celebration. This is a reward for the work we have done."

"What else were we supposed to do? I was a plate, I had no choice but to stay and work!" I lowered my voice, "I would have left if I could have…"

"Why are you still here now?"

"I changed my mind…" I stated simply. We descended the staircase and met Lumiere and Babette at the bottom. I forced myself to be civil, but Babette honestly annoyed me to no end with her constant babbling of whether or not Lumiere loved her.

After a quick conversation with them, the men got into an argument over who said that Belle would break the spell. Babette walked away then came back, rubbing her feather duster on the neck of Lumiere, while seductively saying his name. Cogsworth and I took the opportunity to get refreshments. "Why me?" I asked, unable to hold in my curiosity a moment longer.

"Oh—uhm—well, ma chérie, you have always intrigued me, honestly. The way that you are willing to speak so freely about what you are passionate about is quite admirable…I wish I had that courage."

I scoffed, "Courage? Willing to speak freely? Oh, Cogsworth, I wish that were me."

"But it is, mademoiselle."

I shook my head, "No, I am very shy…I really prefer to stay quiet…I only speak my mind to my sister…apparently you've walked by at just the right moments because I'm very careful to make sure no one is around…"

"Most of us would not even say it to ourselves. I have scolded myself for such thoughts because I knew what would happen if I voiced them, yet you still did."

"Yet I am incapable of speaking to anyone besides my sister about anything. Is that really brave?"

"You are now," he noted with a small grin.

I returned the smile, "It's new to me, though…this is all so very new."

"It is for me as well."

I made eye contact with him, which he held. It felt right unlike when I stole glances at Raoul. "I'm so glad to not be alone."

"So am I…"

**So yeah, that's a lot of stuff. Second part of the ball will come...eventually. Actually, it will probably be Friday because I'll be on break and such, so yeah. Review? **


	6. Chapter 6

**I hope everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving. Thanks everyone for reviewing. *insert disclaimer here***

_Cogsworth~_

We were finally having a real conversation. I was so overjoyed to finally be getting to know Eveline. And even in silence it was not awkward. We kept eye contact with smiles on our faces. Finally, something was going right.

"You're turn," she said suddenly.

"Excuse me?" I asked, confused.

"What's your story? Why are you here?"

"I am unsure of what you mean, mademoiselle…" I replied nervously. I hoped she was not hoping for me to explain my life before working in the castle. That part of my life was distant past; I had no desire to bring it back to life.

"Why are you still here?"

I internally let out a sigh of relief, "I have nowhere else to go…" I started awkwardly, "and I have grown quite fond of it here. It is like a big family; I could never imagine leaving."

"Neither could I," she agreed.

"What changed your mind?"

"What?" she gaped at me, but even still she was beautiful.

"You said you changed your mind about the castle…what changed it?"

I noticed the color rise to her cheeks, which was not normally something I took note of. She looked at her feet and fiddled with her sleeve, "I—I—" She looked back up at me and gave me a nervous smile, "I found a reason to start enjoying life again…"

The way she looked at me made me nervous all over again. I had no idea how to respond to her statement. I felt the sweat bead on my forehead, "Oh?" was my lame response.

"Oh, I must sound so foolish!" she exclaimed.

"No," I said, not knowing where I was going from there. "No, I understand…I think I do anyway…"

Her gaze locked mine again, "Please tell me what you mean so I don't feel so foolish?"

I took a deep breath to gain my courage, "I care about you, Eveline. I know we have not talked much…well, not much at all before now, but I have been inspired by you, Eveline. You are so unique and I appreciate that and you are respectful even when you disagree, yet you are unafraid to let your anger out. Ma chérie, you are a delight and talking to you just proves that to me."

She bit her lip, "That just about sums it up…" she replied, clearly making an attempt to mask her excitement at my words…which I had never done to a girl before Eveline. "I care about you too, Cogsworth…and I would like to take you up on that offer of getting to know you better."

I smiled, "Would you like to dance?"

"Oh, non, I cannot dance!"

"You cannot be that bad."

"Oh, yes I am! I'll only dance with you if you don't mind getting your feet stomped on."

I grinned, "It's worth the risk."

She smiled at me shyly, "Very well then, consider yourself warned."

I never believed a forty year old man would have a chance to be dancing with such a delightful woman who cared about me possibly as much as I cared about her, but here was Eveline, proving me wrong. Her shy smile brought my confidence up. We danced until our feet hurt and she only stepped on my foot once…and that was only because Lumiere and Babette ran into us.

After the ball ended, I walked Eveline up to her room, "I had a wonderful time with you, Eveline…I hope to further our acquaintance more rapidly this time around."

"I say we are friends at this point, don't you agree?" she asked sweetly.

"Pardon me, further our friendship, mon amie," those words caused a beautiful sting to come off my tongue. After our evening together, I became more entranced by her and as glad as I was to be friends, I wanted more. Perhaps it was selfish or too fast, but I had been harboring my confused feelings for about ten years at this point.

"Au revoir, mon ami!" she replied, looking conflicted. Whatever the conflict in her mind was, she quickly decided against it and gently shut the door.

**Just so you know, I don't dislike Babette as a character, but I feel like if I were in the company of her in real life she'd drive me crazy. So, I'm not trying to hate on her...Eveline is kind of a little piece of me, so she thinks similarly to me...probably more so than most of my original characters.:) I hope you enjoyed it!**


	7. Chapter 7

**So, it's been a while. Here's another update. I won't be able to update at all next week. I feel bad for saying that since it's been a while and I already finished writing the story, but I have finals next week. Like, I'M ALMOST DONE WITH MY FIRST SEMESTER OF COLLEGE, OH MY GOSH! Okay, sorry, moving on. Disclaimer: don't own it...besides plot, and a few characters, but even they are ideas from Disney, in a way, since they were plates! okay, sorry. :D I hope you enjoy! :)**

_Eveline~_

As soon as I closed my door, I fell back into my bed with a contented smile. My hand drifted to my mouth, wondering how ridiculous I looked….then I decided I didn't actually care. I looked over to Clarisse's bed to see her small form breathing steadily fast asleep, still in her gown. I smiled, though I hadn't seen her much throughout the evening, I knew she had a good time. I quietly changed and slid underneath my covers. I blew out the candle and drifted off into the most peaceful sleep I had gotten in years.

The next weeks were filled with Prince Adam preparing to take over the thrown. Cogsworth did a lot to help him, so we had trouble finding time to spend together. One day I was particularly frustrated with this and went to the library to be alone. I sat in the big comfy chair and felt tears begin to form, "No, you're not crying…" I muttered to myself.

"What's wrong?" I jumped at the sound of Belle's voice.

I stood up, about to leave, "I'm sorry, I thought I was alone."

Belle stood up from her spot on the floor and grabbed my arm, "No, it's fine. Please, tell me what's wrong, Eveline?" My muscles tensed at her touch, but relaxed when I saw the true concern in her face. I returned to my seat as she made herself comfortable on the floor again. "I'm just frustrated, that's all…"

"You miss him, don't you?"

I debated denying it, but after the ball everyone in the castle could see that we meant something to each other. "We just hit it off so well at the ball…and after all that time of wishing we could be friends…we finally are and now we never see each other…yes, I miss him…more than I ever suspected I could…" I trailed off, embarrassed at how honest I was being with her when just a day before I wasn't this honest with myself.

"I know how you feel…ever since the ball, Adam has been so busy with all his princely duties…I never get much alone time with him…I cherish the little we get. It won't always be this way, though. Adam just needs to learn his duties and Cogsworth is there to help him," she said with a sympathetic smile.

I returned it, "I suppose I can be patient…if you can."

"Perhaps we can be patient together…there aren't many people around my age here…"

"What about Babette? Or my sister?" I questioned, knowing they were much closer to her age than I.

Belle smiled, "I haven't talked to your sister much…and Babette…well, we don't exactly have similar personalities."

I suppressed a laugh, "I suppose together would be lovely."

"Excellent."

That night, I went to bed with a newfound hope for Cogsworth. I knew it would take time, but that didn't change how he or I felt. I cuddled in my blankets, hoping the time we could spend together would come soon.

_I ran as fast as I could, but as I ran the pain only increased in my aching thighs. He was hot on my trail. I tripped on a root and he was on top of me. "Eveline, where have you been the past fifteen years?" _

_ "__You left me, remember?" I spat out._

_ "__Because you refused me my rights," he scoffed._

_ "__You don't own me!"_

_ "__I do now…"_

I woke up screaming with hot tears streaming down my face. Partially unaware of my surroundings, I continued to scream and sob. "Go away, Raoul! Leave me!"

"Eveline, Eveline!" Clarisse was shaking my already trembling body.

My screaming ceased and my sobs were muffled in her shoulder as she hugged me. A few minutes later there was a knock on our door. Clarisse started to get up, "Clare, don't leave me…"

"I need to see who's knocking, Eveline," she walked to the door, "Bonjour Cogsworth…" I went still. I couldn't face him like this. I tried to subtly notify my sister not to let him in, but the next thing I knew Clarisse was gone and Cogsworth was sitting on the edge of my bed.

"What did she tell you?" I asked, humiliated.

He gave me a sympathetic look and took my cold hand in his, "That you had a nightmare about someone in your past…"

I sat up to be next to him. Though I was mortified, his presence helped, "Oh…"

"Are you alright?"

I avoided eye contact, "I'm fine…"

He put his hand on my cheek and gently turned my head towards him, "Tell me the truth…" he whispered.

"It was horrible…" I admitted. I took a deep breath, "His name was Raoul…we—we were courting for a while…" I looked right into his eyes by my own free will this time, "He wanted to do things with me that I wasn't comfortable with and wouldn't accept no for an answer…" Cogsworth gasped. "He didn't do anything…I mean, he hurt me, but he never forced anything…he just tried…" I turned my head for a second, "He found someone to satisfy his cravings and left me once I discovered her…" I looked at him again. The pain I saw in his eyes surprised me…I knew he cared about me, but he looked utterly heartbroken and outraged at the same time.

He then pulled me into a gentle hug, "No one deserves to be treated in such a way, ma chérie, especially not you."

I returned his hug and leaned on his shoulder, hoping I wasn't freaking him out, but also realizing he was the one who sat on my bed and initiated the hug, so my actions couldn't be too much. He looked down at me and gently wiped a tear from my face, which I reacted to with a slight smile. He sadly smiled at me, "It's all in the past…"

"In my dream…he seemed to succeed," I choked on my sob.

"Shhh…" he rubbed my arm, up and down…I relaxed.

"Thank you…" and I slowly drifted off to sleep.

When I awoke the next morning, I found a tray with tea and toast on it and a note from Mrs. Potts: _I hope you feel better, dear. Don't bother coming to work today, your sister explained everything. _ I groaned, wondering what exactly 'everything' meant. Then I eased my mind with a sip of tea. Someone must have checked on me and noticed me stirring because it was still piping hot. A few hours later I heard a knock on my door, "Come in."

I was shocked to see Cogsworth there with a tray of soup in hand, "I thought you might be hungry," he explained as he set it in front of me.

"Thank you…" I said quietly, "Does Mrs. Potts think I'm sick?"

"I have no idea what your sister told her, but whatever it was, it is best that you relax today."

I groaned, "A bad dream is no excuse to miss out on work."

"Yes, but an emotionally scarring dream that kept you up is a perfectly legitimate excuse from work," he replied in a gentle tone.

I smiled at him, "So, why is the Head of the Household bringing my lunch up to me?"

He got slightly flustered, "Oh—that—" I could see his face turning red, "I…" I giggled. "I wanted to make sure you were alright…" he finally admitted.

I smiled, "Thank you, I appreciate it…" I took a spoonful of soup. "You must think I'm pathetic, huh?"

"Not at all, mademoiselle," he answered softly. I looked into his eyes which were filled with sincerity and concern. Just looking at him made my skin burn slightly. "I am glad you are alright."

"Thank you…" I shyly reached over to take his hand, "I really needed you last night…I would have never admitted it."

"Why does that not surprise me?" he said with a playful gleam in his eyes.

I looked away and heavily sighed, realizing that his duties with Prince Adam would soon precede me again.

"What's wrong, Eveline?"

"It's just—" I looked in his eyes, searching for an unknown sign, "I miss you…" I admitted in a mumble.

"What?" he sounded puzzled.

"You've been working with Prince Adam so much since the ball; we've barely had time to...together….I know it's your duty, but—"

He softly interrupted me, "I've missed you too." I turned to him in shock. "I know it's hard, ma chère, but it will be over soon. Next week is the official re-coronation of Prince Adam and then I can spend more time with you…and I will."

"Promise?" I asked weakly.

"It's a promise," he replied with a smile.

**This is one of my favorite chapters. I think it's because I relate to it, which is why I wrote it. I hope you enjoyed it too. Review?**


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry it's been so long, I had finals and then holiday stuff with my family. Hopefully I'll be posting quite a few chapters over the rest of break though. I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas, Hanukah, or whatever you celebrate at this time. Enjoy!  
**

_Cogsworth~_

The next week was incredibly busy around the castle. Although I was occupied the majority of the day, I was distracted by the knowledge of Eveline's past. I wondered how anyone could be so cruel as to try to force anything about of a young woman, especially sweet Eveline. The nerve of someone to mistreat such a precious person was beyond me. I internally fumed over it the entire week and lacked on my duties on a few separate occasions. "Cogsworth," the sound of Prince Adam summoning me interrupted my thoughts. It was the morning of the coronation.

"Yes, master?"

"Please, Cogsworth, aren't we past formalities?"

"I—I suppose so, sire…oops."

"Please, Cogsworth, I'm just Adam."

"That will take some getting used to…" I replied honestly.

"What's been going on with you? You've been distracted this past week…I've never seen you make this many mistakes before, Cogsworth…" he said honestly. This was what I was afraid of.

"I know, mas—Adam, I apologize …"

"What's going on? I'm worried about you…"

"Oh, it is nothing of that sort!" I said.

"Then what is it?"

I knew he would refuse to let it go and as the prince, it was my duty to answer to him, "I am just worried about someone…"

"Eveline," he said knowingly.

"Yes," I replied, "something she told me the other day really shook me up…"

"And you miss her?" he questioned, though by his expression it was obvious he understood what I was feeling.

"Yes."

"I feel the same with Belle. With all of this duty it's hard to spend time with those you care about. Just a few more hours, Cogsworth, then we'll have time with them. What do you say about taking next week off?"

"Oh, I could never do that!"

"How about just tomorrow?"

"Well—alright, I will take tomorrow off."

"Good. Enjoy it, Cogsworth."

The coronation went swimmingly and the next day, I went to search for Eveline. When I found her, she looked distressed. "Eveline, are you alright?"

I looked up at me and smiled, "Oh! Bonjour Cogsworth."

"What's wrong?"

She smiled lightly at me, "It's just been a long week…I'm so glad it's over."

"You should be relaxing," I pulled the cloth she was using to clean out of her hand, "There is nothing that we need to clean the dining room for. You have cleaned it every day."

"What are you saying?" she asked skeptically.

"Come on a walk with me?" I requested.

She smiled, "Let me go ask Mrs. Potts…" A minute later, she returned with a smile, "Let's get going." I smiled in satisfaction; I had already known that Mrs. Potts would let her go.

We walked the gardens. At first it was in a peaceful silence until I turned to her, "I feel as though you should know as much about me as I know about you…"

"You don't need to tell me anything that makes you uncomfortable…" she replied slowly.

"If I never said anything that made me uncomfortable, we would not be here because we never would have gone to the ball together," I stated knowingly. She giggled in acknowledgement of the truth in that statement. "The reason I have been so nervous is based upon my past as well…" I started, taking a deep breath, still not sure how much I was planning on telling her, "Her name was Geneviève. We were best friends growing up until I started having feelings for her. I was twenty at the time and unknowledgeable about a great many things…"

"I can't imagine that, Cogsworth," she said with a smile.

"I went to her attempting to get her to feel the same…which bothered her a great deal. When I finally mustered up the courage to tell her how I felt, she rejected me and told me that ever since my obvious feelings blossomed I had been acting immature and unreasonable….I lost hope in ever finding happiness again…that is why I get so worked up with my job…because I need to have something work out for me…" I sighed, "You remind me of her, actually. Spunky, charismatic…except I see an elegance of self in you that she never possessed…" I trailed off, trying to convey how much more fond of her I was than I ever was with Geneviève without telling her in so many words.

"I suppose my running off that one day added to your stress and nerves…" she replied guiltily.

"Please don't feel guilty, Eveline…I had no intention of making you feel that way."

She looked up at me, "Only if you admit it."

"Alright, it added to my nerves."

"Thank you…" she said and from her tone I could tell it was about more than just admitting she was right.

"Excuse me?" I said quietly.

She met my gaze with her deep brown eyes, "Thank you…for not giving up on me."

I smiled as I took her hand in mine and gave it a squeeze, "I would never dream of such a thing, ma chérie."

We walked in silence for few minutes hand in hand. I smiled and turned to her, "Eveline?" I had no idea how to express my desires to her, but I knew I had to try.

"Yes, Cogsworth?"

I took a deep breath and turned to face her, "We have clearly been interested in each other for some time now and I was wondering if you would do me the honor of courting me?" It came out much smoother than I had expected. I sighed of relief; then I awaited her reaction.

Her face went from curiosity to confusion, which made me apprehensive. Then her expression turned the brightest I had ever seen it. Her radiant features were exemplified by her joy. She seemed at a loss for words. After what seemed like an eternity of this, she took a breath and hugged me, "Oh yes, I would like that…" then she backed off, embarrassed.

I put a hand on her arm with a shy smile before pulling her into a hug, "Wonderful…" I whispered into her hair.

_Eveline~_

I stayed in his arms for quite a while. I was comfortable in his presence. Our silence filled the air with a comfortable mood. We eventually continued our walk as our silence continued. He then gently pulled me toward him and motioned for me to sit down. I sat on the ground, waiting for him to join me. He sat beside me and took in a breath of the fresh spring air, "Do you know the story of the young boy who went on an adventure?"

"What kind of adventure?" I asked as I looked around the garden in awe.

"Well, he stole his father's biggest horse and rode out to the woods alone…" he started.

I looked up at him to see he was gazing at me, I blushed, "Please continue…" I requested.

"Well, once he got into the woods, he ran into a bear—"

"Wait, how old was this boy?"

He stopped to think about it for a second, "Hm…no older than eleven." He then continued, "The boy was so frightened by the bear, but the horse quickly neighed and went on its hind legs. The boy fell and the horse ran in the direction they had come from. The boy started to run too, but the bear was too fast. Then when he thought all hope was lost, an arrow hit the bear. His father came and helped him up, scolding him along the way….you know who the boy was?"

"A cousin of yours?" I replied sarcastically.

"It was me!" he proclaimed proudly, though it was quite obvious. I giggled, finding his pride in this story humorous and quite cute at the same time. "What?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing, you're just sweet…" I replied.

"Oh—hum—alright…" he said sheepishly.

I giggled, "So, what changed?"

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"What made you go from rebellious Cogsworth to current Cogsworth?"

"I thought I already explained that," he noted.

"Yes, but that's a dramatic change….I know it must have hurt with Geneviève, but was that all that did it?"

He took in a deep breath of air, "I suppose there was more to it. That was the factor that made me act on all of the things telling me to be a hard worker."

"What else was there?"

"My father, mainly. Also the fact that I got fired a couple of times for doing things my way rather than the proper way…"

I turned to him with my jaw dropped, "You?"

He chuckled softly and I embraced the feeling of his slowly moving shoulders with his chuckle against my back. "Yes, me…I suppose the bad things in my past have molded me to my current state."

"Was it worth it?" I wondered aloud.

"Was what worth it?"

"Your past worth who you are now?"

He smiled at me, "Well, being that I am sitting here with you, yes, yes it was worth it."

I giggled, "Was it before?"

"Yes, it was. I was more stressed before, though. I prefer it this way."

"So do I…"

We stayed in the gardens chatting until the sun started to set, "Oh, it's getting so late! We've been here for hours; I didn't even realize it had been that long!"

Cogsworth chuckled, "I suppose it has been quite a while, but I am strangely okay with that," he replied with a wink.

"Mrs. Potts is probably wondering why I've been gone so long…"

"What is another ten minutes to watch the sunset?"

I looked at him in shock, "I think a bit of the old Cogsworth is coming out!"

He laughed, "She will not mind, ma chérie. I know her well enough to be certain of it."

I returned to my previous position of my head on his shoulder and sighed with contentment, "Do you think things will always be this way?"

"What do you mean?"

"Everyone in the castle being so happy, us going off for hours and it only seeming like minutes…all of it."

"I dearly hope so."

**I hope you enjoyed the nice long chapter:) **


	9. Chapter 9

**It's been a while. I guess I got distracted by the fact that I have time for things I've basically spent the past couple weeks texting my best friend constantly. Oops(actually, not really). I hope you enjoy! And hopefully I'll have another update before I go back to school.**

_Cogsworth~_

After the sunset, we walked back to the castle and I walked Eveline to the dining room, "Au revoir, Eveline."

"Au revoir, Cogsworth…" she closed the door to the dining room.

I walked back to my room and sat on my bed. I thought back on the events of the day with a smile. Quite a productive day it was. Lumiere yet again came into my room without knocking. "Bonjour mon ami! How did your day off go?"

"Swimmingly," I replied simply.

"Would you care to elaborate?" he asked irritably.

"Well, we are courting," I answered with a smile.

"Excellent, excellent…" he said casually. "Wait what?!" he turned to me in utter shock.

"Yes, I asked her and she accepted the offer."

"Oh Cogsworth! I am surprised at you!" He gave me a devilish grin, "In the best of ways."

I chuckled at his idioms, "There is no need to be so sinister, Lumiere."

"Oh, Cogsworth, allow me to enjoy myself!"

I rolled my eyes as he went on about how impressed he was that I actually acted on my feelings.

The next morning, I walked into the dining hall to do my staff checks. "Good morning, Eveline, Clarisse…" I said as I walked in, not paying attention to my surroundings.

"Hello Cogsworth!" I heard Belle's voice say, I looked up.

"Oh! Bonjour Belle!" I flustered over my words, especially upon realizing Eveline giggling at me. Though I was thankful that her sister was not present.

Belle laughed, "I was just discussing the events of yesterday with Eveline, sounds fun!" I blushed slightly, which I could see that Eveline noticed because she giggled even more. "Well, I better go find, Adam. Au revoir!" I smiled, whether that was because she finally stopped saying 'Bea-Adam' or that she was leaving I was unsure.

"Good morning, Cogsworth!" Eveline greeted brightly.

"Good morning, Eveline," I looked around the room, "Is your sister absent or is she hiding in attempt to frighten me?"

Eveline laughed again, "She's not currently here. Mrs. Potts needed her in the kitchen this morning, which Clare did not appreciate much at all."

I smiled, "How was your sleep?"

"Wonderful, I dreamt all night long without a nightmare," she replied with a shy grin on her face.

"Oh, good."

"What about you?"

I paused, not wanting to admit that I had stayed up rather late pondering over our day, but I also had no desire to lie, "Alright, I went to bed fairly later than usual."

"Any particular reason?"

"I was just thinking, once Lumiere left."

"I actually was thinking quite a bit myself, though my thoughts lulled my to a peaceful slumber."

"Oh, wonderful!" I replied awkwardly resulting in yet another giggle from Eveline.

At that moment, Clarisse walked in, "Bonjour Eveline! Lover boy…"

I blushed at her comment and turned to Eveline to see she was hiding her face in embarrassment, "Just stop, Clarisse!"

"Eh, I'll stop when I want to."

"Clarisse, can you be mature for once?"

"Once I feel like it," she shrugged.

Eveline groaned. "I actually must be going, au revoir!" I left the room in a hurry then went to my work. I remained distracted throughout the work day. If her sister had not used the word 'love' so quickly, I would be composed at that moment, but I kept fretting about Eveline wanting me to use that word so quickly. I sighed, knowing I would not say it unless I was sure it was true.

"Cogsworth?" I heard Eveline's soft voice.

"Oh, bonjour!" I said, turning.

She looked nervous and she avoided eye contact, "I just wanted to apologize for my sister…she—she tends to make people uncomfortable with things such as that…quickly…I hope you know I had no part in motivating her to say that…sorry…"

I took her hand, causing her to look at me, "Oh Eveline, it is alright. It is not you who said it; there is no need to apologize."

"You were thinking about it, weren't you?" she asked.

"Perhaps a tad…"

"Well don't worry about it…I wish my sister would grow up at some point. I love her dearly, but she's twenty-five, it's time to mature a bit…I should let you get back to your work, but I couldn't wait another minute without apologizing."

I smiled, "You are wonderful, Eveline. Have a good day, au revoir!"

_Eveline~_

I walked back to the dining room feeling uncomfortable. I felt as though I had lied to a degree since I had told her I was hoping for a chance to love again…but I never said I loved him, not yet. It is far too soon. That evening, I got to the point that I was extremely annoyed with my sister. When I got into our room, I avoided eye contact at all costs.

"Hey Ev!"

"Don't 'hey Ev' me!" I snapped.

She gasped, since I never really snapped at her like that before, "What's wrong?"

"You know what's wrong, Clarisse."

I felt her touch my shoulder, "What are you talking about?"

"Please just stop," I shrugged her off, "You know what you did."

"Wait, you're mad at me?" she sounded really hurt, so I finally allowed myself to look at her.

"Yes, I am mad at you."

"Look, I didn't mean to get you mad at me…"

"Then why did you say it?"

"I thought it'd be funny to see him all flustered?"

"Do you realize how desperate that makes me look?" I asked, exasperated.

Her face went downcast, "Oh, I'm sorry…I didn't think about that…"

"Please just don't do it again, Clarisse…and I'd really appreciate if you apologized to Cogsworth."

"What?" her face turned bright red.

"Please, you really shook him up, Clare…" I said gently, realizing I had over reacted, "Look, I'm sorry, Clare. I didn't mean to act like that. I should learn to act my age…"

She smiled lightly, "Me too." I pulled her into a hug. "I'm really sorry, Ev…sometimes I just don't think."

"It's alright…I'm realizing that though we aged those ten years, not being human really affected how much we really learned about life."

"Yeah, I'll apologize tomorrow…I promise."

**well, there's the next chapter. Review? :)**


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